If It Is Monday It Must Be WTO!

First, this is not some post about some moronic wrestling federation extravaganza….no I am talking about the World Trade Organization (WTO)….or some of you old farts might remember it as GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)…..but what the Hell is it?

The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO’s current work comes from the 1986–94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations, under the ‘Doha Development Agenda’ launched in 2001.

Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to open markets for trade. But the WTO is not just about opening markets, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example, to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.

I know you are probably thinking that this has nothing to do with you…well you would be wrong for Our Dear Leader if successful could make your living a lot more expensive than today……

He, Dear Leader, has declared a possible war on the WTO……

Shape up or we’ll ship out. That was essentially the message President Trump had for the World Trade Organization in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. Trump described the 1994 agreement that formed the WTO as “the single worst trade deal ever made” and issued his threat: “If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO.” The body sets rules for global trade and serves as a forum for handling trade disputes, and Trump complained about the historical outcome of those complaints. He had this to say: “We rarely won a lawsuit except for last year. In the last year, we’re starting to win a lot. You know why? Because they know if we don’t, I’m out of there.”

The BBC cites a study that shows the reality is more like 90/90: We win about 90% of the cases we bring, and lose just shy of 90% of those filed against us. As for the cases filed against us, ones from China have made recent headlines. The AP reports Beijing on Monday formally sought “dispute consultations” over the latest round of tariffs—$16 billion of them—imposed last week on Chinese goods. China is a thorn, per US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who views China’s 2001 entry into the body as a mistake. Bloomberg’s take: “A US withdrawal from the WTO potentially would be far more significant for the global economy than even Trump’s growing trade war with China.” In the meantime, the US has been blocking the appointment of new judges, which could ultimately put the WTO’s ability to issue judgments on ice. Click for more on Trump’s wide-ranging interview.

As this policy expands items will becoming more expensive and in some cases more difficult to obtain and that could influence the production in this country…and for what?

Some minor machismo for the news cycle…….for he must be the talk of the town whether good or bad…..

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9 thoughts on “If It Is Monday It Must Be WTO!”

Lots of views about this over here. As we leave the EU, we may well need the WTO to make life easier for trading with new markets. But as we usually hang on to the coat-tails of the US, there’s an outside chance that we might leave, if they do. Th alternative is to stick with the other members, and isolate the US, which is the way it has been heading since 2016. That will only work for America if all US consumers are prepared to buy 100% of domestic goods, and pay the higher charges for increased labour costs that make those more expensive to buy.
But as usual, only us lower-income saps will be the ones to suffer.
Best wishes, Pete.

Consumers here may talk a good game but they prefer cheap crap…that is the average Joe and Josephine…..I think Trump is doing what he always does…..trashes everything so when something is done he looks like a genius….chuq

Yeah, “cheap crap” is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You want cheap crap? Guess who makes cheap crap? Disposable humans from overseas and robots. Every dollar spent on cheap crap incentivizes the firing of non-cheap workers…(aka You guys!) But people would rather have cheap crap than jobs.

I understand why The Poors have to settle for cheap crap. But every single time I go past a China-Mart, the number of Cadillac, Mercedes and BMW SUVS is staggering. These motherfuckers can (& should) shop elsewhere. Instead, they’ve helped the downward spiral.

I’m sure this outfit does provide some positive utility from time to time, if only to provide a table to have talks over. Very expensive tables to have very expensive talks between vastly overpaid, well-connected, douchebags who are sucking the government tit for all they can.

However, the WTO’s primary purpose is as a tool to neuter governments and subjugate them to the will of multi-national corporations. The timing of its creation is perfect and every ruling I’ve ever heard of fits that description; the empowering of corporations at the expense of governments. It also takes the burden off of governments. “Look we defended that policy you wanted (and we didn’t), but that nasty WTO overruled us. We can’t do anything for you. We can’t do anything for you. We can’t do anything for you.”

That 90%-90% stat is VERY telling. It says nearly ALL complaints are successful and that governments (and the people they supposedly represent) are irrelevant in the Globalist Economy. Just in case you didn’t already know that.

This situation might be another case of the Orange Wrecking Ball doing the right thing in the wrong way…and for the primary purpose of drawing attention to Himself. That said, I’m crossing my fingers.